'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918' [‎98] (107/568)

98
INHABITANTS
General Characteristics. — The Arab is generally intelligent, quick,
and impressionable ; often he has a certain subtlety of mind whic \
is capable of a high state of culture. But he is slovenly and
uncreative in practical matters, and is lacking in the power of co
operation and of sustained labour in the face of difficulties. The
Arab ideal of conduct is humane, and includes courtesy, generosity,
and hospitality, and may express itself finely in action if it is not
stifled by the desires of the moment. The Arab is often grasping
and unscrupulous in his pursuit of gain. He has a natural bent tor
intrigue, is much under the sway of personal ambitions and
jealousies, and is very much of a time-server. In any conflict he
may be expected to drop a cause "which he thinks the loser, but is
not likely to change sides till it seems safe to him to do so. His
word is generally easily broken unless given under certain forms or
in certain circumstances which make it a point of honour with him
to keep it. For the wilder tribesman blackmail and thievery are
normal and proper ways of earning a living. The town-rabbles,
often of very mixed blood, are generally in bad repute. ^
The Arab tribesman is used to continual but fairly harmless
warfare, made up of raids, loose skirmishes, and running fights.
He frequently commits acts of treachery and he is generally ready
to rob or blackmail a weaker neighbour ; but in inter-tribal warfare
he does not show himself bloodthirsty, and surrenders are readily
accepted. In warfare with regular troops he usually confines himself
to guerilla methods, the harassing of retreats, or sudden but not
very determined attacks. The Arab is said to be an inferior horse-
master and a poor shot. A really strong wave of religious fanaticism,
which is always to be counted on as a possibility in a Mohammedan
country, might make the tribal levies far more dangerous; but in
modern times the Mesopotamian Arabs have had the reputation of
being comparatively free from fanatical religious feeling. ^
As regards his economic capacity, the Arab has a certain aptitude
for trade, but in Mesopotamia he is outrivalled in this respect by
other races—Jews and Armenians especially. The Bedawi has
a contempt for manual labour as degrading. As a cultivator the
settled or semi-nomad Arab is usually rather slovenly and sketchy,
and inclined to take the line of least resistance; but the conditions
under which he at present works in Mesopotamia are against the
development of his capacity in this respect. The quality of his
agricultural work has been observed to improve with an improvement
in his circumstances; and it seems quite likely that under a good
government which gave him security, water (justly distributed),
and instruction, he would be capable of using his opportunities